The blog is creative, and at the same time, is chock full of good advice. If you’re a writer and you’re not following the Urban Muse, then you’re missing out.
Last week’s “of note” blog was Words for Hire. You can read the review here.
Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. But hey, why not drop me a note (laura at symbol writingthoughts dot com) and tell me why you think your writing blog is notable? If I agree, then I just might feature it here.
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
The real truth is that even the very best writers need down time.
We need time to recharge our engines. We need time to update our skills and learn how to hone our craft. We need time to spend with our friends and families.
If we really do need down time, why do so many of us operate as though we don’t need any breaks?
We act as though we are writing robots, able to churn out copy on demand around the clock.
You may be in danger of adopting the writing robot mentality if:
You routinely accept work that will force you to work overtime just to make ends meet.
You can’t say “no” to a writing project, no matter how busy you are.
Your friends and family are becoming strangers.
Your writing lacks that special something that grabs the reader.
You can’t tell where one writing project begins and another ends.
You’re starting to have health problems related to spending too much time at the computer.
This week’s “Of Note” blog is Karen Swim’s Words For Hire. Karen has a great way of telling stories that teach. A perfect example of this talent can be found in her recent post, Forward Momentum Begins With Standng Firm.
If you’re looking for a good writing blog with a unique voice, this is it. Karen has an original way of expressing ideas and concepts. I highly recommend that you pay Words For Hire a visit.
Last week’s “Of Note” blog was Rogue Ink. You can read my review here.
Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. But hey, why not drop me a note (laura at symbol writingthoughts dot com) and tell me why you think your writing blog is notable? If I agree, then I just might feature it here.
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
This is a question that I’ve been mulling over for the past month or so, ever since it came up in a discussion with a colleague.
I currently (as of 2008) wear two hats. I blog (not only here, but also at Business and Blogging, Freelance Folder, OpinionMom, and Work From Home Momma). I write/edit (training materials, technical documents, and web content).
The two hats are really very different.
Blogging leaves me with a sense of giving something back. Writing is personal. When I write a blog post I’m sharing a piece of me. However, blogging is often a lot more work because you are never done when you are blogging. You write and publish a post, but that is not the end. You must check back and answer commentators. You must participate in social media. You will worry about statistics. All this for . . . well, usually not very much money at all.
Writing/editing leaves me with a since of accomplishment. When I finish a project and turn it in, I’m done. Writing can also be challenging since I often am assigned to write/edit on topics that stretch me. Writing also pays quite well. However, it’s not at all personal.
Until a year and half ago, the answer to this question was very clear. I didn’t blog at all – freelance writing was my entire business.
From a financial perspective, I must always place more emphasis on the writing portion of my business since it pays the bills. I’d definitely miss writing if blogging were all that I did. Recently, I’ve been wondering if I’m spending too much of my day blogging. However, I know that I’d miss blogging if I quit.
I know that both writers who are primarily writer/editors read this blog along with writers who are primarily bloggers.
Which are you, and why?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Have you ever gotten something that you thought you’d really like, only to misplace it before you had the chance to really examine it?
Well, that happened to me with Rogue Ink. I found the site a few weeks ago and pasted the URL into notepad and minimized, thinking I would look at it later. Unfortunately, my computer locked up and I had to reboot and I lost the URL before I could look at the site.
That’s why I was delighted when I ran across Rogue Ink again today. Rogue Ink is the web home and personal blog of writer Taylor “Tei” Lindstrom.
Most of Taylor’s posts are written in a rambling conversational style that is both easy to read and interesting. Did I also mention that she includes a lot of humor?
If you got the time and inclination to both learn something and be entertained, then this is the blog for you.
Last week’s blog “Of Note” was Swan’s Blog. You can read my review here.
Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time.)
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
One question that I get asked a lot is: “how can I learn to write like you?”
Or a friend or family member will say to me, “I wish I could do what you do, I’m just not a very good writer.”
Until now, I haven’t really had a very good resource to send such people to for reference.
(Sure, I could send them to some of the textbooks and style guides I learned from in school, but chances are that they also used those same style guides and textbooks and didn’t pick up what they needed to know.)
How To Say It is the perfect writing resource for someone who needs to learn business writing skills. By teaching readers to apply a simple outline system of writing (the Target Outline System) to a variety of business writing needs, Adina equips her readers with the business writing skills that they will need to succeed.
The book is also a great resource for someone who has basic writing skills, but is unused to applying them in a business environment.
Some of the business writing projects that Adina teaches her readers to tackle include:
Letters and E-mails
Basic reports
Performance evaluations
General proposals
Marketing Proposals
How-To Manuals (coming from a technical writing background as I do, I read this chapter with particular interest and I would say that she’s on target here )
I especially like that the book concludes with a series of exercises. I think that writing in general, and business writing in particular, is one of those things that improves with practice.
If you are interested in pursuing business writing, then this book provides you with an effective writing system to help you succeed. The step-by-step approach makes learning business writing seem easy.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Edited to Add: One of my readers informed me that this site may have risque advertisements. I didn’t see them when I visited the site, most likely because I have most pop-up ads blocked on my computer. I apologize to any readers who may have inadvertently been exposed to such content. I’ve removed the link.
To be honest, most online games don’t tempt me much. I’m just not into “shoot-em up” type games.
All that has changed now!
Last week I accidentally discovered the Language is a Virus website (via StumbleUpon) and found myself hooked.
The site provides ample opportunity to play with words and even a place where writer hopefuls can publish poems and stories.
Truthfully, I haven’t explored the entire site. I’ve wasted spent most of my time on the site in the section titled, “Widgets to Cure Writer’s Block.” Somehow, generating character names for stories that I will never write and using the various poem generators to create verse is strangely addictive.
Anyway, I thought I’d share the site with all my writing friends because I know that, like me, you are always looking for ways to avoid work overcome writer’s block.
Enjoy!
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
This week the “Of Note” blog is the personal blog of freelance writer, Katharine Swan. Swan’s Blog is a great resource for other freelance writers as well as a way to keep up with the writer’s own accomplishments.
Katharine Swan has a way of covering topics comprehensively and in language that anyone can understand.
If you’re not a reader of Swan’s Blog, then you may want to stop by and see what she has to say.
Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time.)
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
How important is it to have a photo of yourself on your blog?
When I first started blogging the lack of a photo on my About page was one of the biggest criticisms that I received.
“Readers can’t trust you if they can’t see you” I was told.
“Nobody will take you seriously if you don’t display your picture” another commentator added.
It’s been over a year. While I notice that I still haven’t gotten around to adding a photograph of myself to WritingThoughts, I have accepted other blogging gigs that have required me to post my picture. I’ve also started using my photo in social media networking.
How valid were those early comments?
I wonder…
A quick survey of some very popular sites shows that there are several that lack the blogger’s photo (as far as I can tell), including:
(Note: As of 2015 when I rechecked, Men with Pens has a photo on their About page. Some of the other blogs that I had listed as not having photos no longer exist.)
There are also many popular sites where the blogger’s photo is evident, even prominent. Here are several of those:
What do you think? Is it necessary for a blogger to post their photo? Is it helpful?
Update: I’ve definitely changed my opinion on this issue. As of April 2015, I do think it’s important to have a picture on your About page. If you look at mine, you’ll see that I added one quite some time ago.
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Once again I had to double check to make sure that I hadn’t already featured this blog.
The real truth is that even the very best writers need down time.
This week’s “Of Note” blog is Karen Swim’s 
This is a question that I’ve been mulling over for the past month or so, ever since it came up in a discussion with a colleague.
Living things grow and change. 
Have you ever gotten something that you thought you’d really like, only to misplace it before you had the chance to really examine it?
This week the “Of Note” blog is the personal blog of freelance writer, Katharine Swan. 
